Sara Mendes
@sarammendes.bsky.social
Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Göttingen | PhD in Ecology | Ecologist with interest in #communityecology, #ecologicalnetworks, #restoration and on how #globalchange impact #interactions | #seeddispersal
New Ecology paper about relationships among plant dispersal mechanisms, syndromes, and animal vectors. Dispersal mechanisms only match dispersal syndromes in a minority of cases. @ebdonana.bsky.social @fsd2028.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
In our new paper, led by Casper van Leeuwen, we found that endozoochory by birds and mammals accounts for 90% of interactions of the European seed dispersal network and that animals disperse many more species than inferred from diaspore traits! doi.org/10.1002/ecy....
doi.org
#Viewpoint: Neglected seed dispersers and research compartmentalisation: how much do we know about what we don't know? Mendes et al. 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue #PlantScience @sarammendes.bsky.social; @drandygreen.bsky.social; @isatxu.bsky.social
New paper out in New Phytologist 🌱 After centuries of research in Europe, we have studied only ~37% of all seed-dispersal interactions. Birds of prey, ants, and rodents are among the most understudied - yet researchers rarely flag them as gaps! nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Neglected seed dispersers and research compartmentalisation: how much do we know about what we don't know?
Geographic distribution of seed dispersal studies by disperser guild.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Two weeks in at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 🇺🇸 as a visiting scholar ☺️ I’m here for a month collaborating with César Terrer’s group, diving deeper into the world of terrestrial carbon ecology.🌳🪵 It’s been an incredible opportunity to bring new perspectives back to my work.
Although the next conference is still a way off, we’ve created this account to share updates on venue and dates, as well as news and publications on FRUGIVORES & SEED DISPERSAL Artwork: María León Ilustración
Today I started a new postdoc adventure at the beautiful and snowy University of Göttingen (Germany) as a Dorothea Schlözer Fellow 🤗 I’m really happy to begin this new chapter with the Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography group 🌳🏝️
Honoured to receive the Young Researcher Award from the University of Coimbra, funded by Fundação Santander.🥰 A great way to close a year full of personal and professional achievements, and an extra motivation to keep doing what I love! 🌱 Grateful to everyone who has supported me on this journey ✨
I love the way science used to be written. Is it necessary to know that the author was pushing his baby in a pram while making observations of insects? Perhaps not, but it provides delightful context, while assuming the reader is familiar with his previously published baby-wheeling-related work.
What is the cost of wildfire, windthrow and bark beetles for Europe’s forestry? We estimate that disturbances reduce Europe’s forest value by €115 bn, more than doubling to €247 bn under severe climate change. Led by @johannesmohr.bsky.social, out in @natclimate.nature.com doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Had a wonderful time at #EcoNet2025 in Newcastle 🇬🇧! It was a pleasure to share my work, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and meet so many new people. ✨ Already looking forward to the next meeting in Brazil 🇧🇷🪻🌱🫐🐜🐝🦊🐦⬛
New R-package alert! 🚨 With tabs it has never been easier to reconstruct altitudinal shifts of biogeographical systems over time. Whether in the ocean 🏝️, shallow seas 🪸 or mountains ⛰️; tabs can project spatial configurations shaped by climatic conditions. ➡️ doi.org/10.21425/fob...
A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species go.nature.com/4mOb5T9
‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother
Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.
go.nature.com
Looks like #EcoNet2025 has started early at the City Tavern. Welcome to the Toon @sciencesncl.bsky.social
The final version of this paper is now published @newphyt.bsky.social The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Long-term databases as an antidote to the shifting baseline syndrome in global change. 🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology
juli g pausas@jgpausas.bsky.social · last yr.Climate warming is not a recent phenomenon; it has had detectable impacts on plants for at least 134 years! The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming @newphyt.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology @cideinvestiga.bsky.social @csic.es
🌱 New paper out! In Teide National Park (Tenerife), ~69% of seed dispersal interactions have been lost after centuries of human impact.🐦⬛🫐 But there’s hope: 90% of those interactions involve extant species, making ecological restoration an achievable long-term goal! doi.org/10.1016/j.ge... 🌍🌐🧪
Really hot days of fieldwork 🔥🥾🎒, searching for some of the rarest and most endangered endemic plant species 🌿🌱 on La Gomera island 🏝️ 🌎🌐🧪
It’s a wrap on the @newphyt.bsky.social Next Generation Scientists meeting! 🌳🪻 I loved having the opportunity to share my work on seed dispersal and to hear incredible talks on plant science from all around the world. It was a lot of fun, and we even wrapped it up with a funfair! 🎡✨ #npnextgen
🌳🌷Day 1 of the New Phytologist Next Generation Scientists in Birmingham has been filled with amazing talks on plant science and thought-provoking panel discussions! So grateful for the opportunity to be here ✨ #npnextgen #NGS2025
✨ I’m very grateful to have been awarded 2nd place in the 2025 National Award for the best PhD Thesis in Ecology promoted by SPECO. 🤗 This award holds a special place in my heart as it represents the culmination of over four years of hard work, learning and doing what I truly love. 🐦⬛ 🌳 🥾 🎒 💻
Prémio de Doutoramento em Ecologia - Fundação Amadeu Dias: Vencedores da Edição 2025
Comunicado de imprensa revela quem foram os vencedores da edição de 2025 do Prémio de Doutoramento em Ecologia - Fundação Amadeu Dias.
speco.pt
New paper out! 🏙️ We found that urbanisation simplifies and homogenises seed dispersal networks. 🪴🐦⬛ Non-native plants dominate in cities, accounting for 61% 😔 of interactions in the urban network vs just 15% in forests! 🪻🌿🌴 Check it out: doi.org/10.1111/cobi... 🌐🧪🌍🍁
Happy to share that I’ve won the UC-Life Sciences Award 2025 for best scientific article of 2024 in Biology!🧪👩🏻💻🪻🌿🐦⬛🦊 This national award recognizes top papers published by master’s or PhD students in Portugal. Huge thanks to everyone who’s been part of this journey, especially my amazing co-authors! 🙌
It’s a privilege to work in a place like Parque Nacional de Tamadaba, in Gran Canaria! Surrounded by beautiful pine forests 🌲🌲, rich biodiversity with endemic species 🐦🌿, and , on clear days, a stunning view of Tenerife’s Teide volcano 🌋. (If you look closely, you might spot Teide in the photo!)🌎🌐🧪
The beautiful Semele gayae, endemic to Gran Canaria island 🥰🏝️🌿
Come and join us in Newcastle for a wonderful gathering of network ecologists! This year our theme is 'Network Ecology in the Anthropocene' and our plenary speakers include Jane Memmott and Paulo Guimarães. Symposium tickets are an absolute bargain, especially for students.
Network Ecology Group - Newcastle University@nclneg.bsky.social · last yr.EcoNet2025: VII Symposium on Ecological Networks 3-5 September 2025 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN: ncl.ac.uk/.../events/e... PLACES ARE LIMITED TO 150 SO BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT Call for talks and posters closes 20th June.
Office view of the week in Gran Canaria island 🥾🎒🏝️ 🧪🌎🌐
I'm happy to share that I've started a new position as a Postdoctoral Researcher at CSIC 🇪🇸! Excited to dive into some cool science on seed dispersal 🌴🐦⬛ and island colonisation 🏝️ and work with great people. Looking forward to the journey ahead! 🤗 🧪🌐🌍
